What Does A Bride Need To Do About Changing Her Name?

Research shows that more women are taking their husbands names after marriage. Here is a checklist to follow in order to take on his name:

Marriage License- This is the mot necessary step because you won’t be able to change your name at all without this document.

Driver’s License- You’ll have to take your marriage license and current driver’s license to the DMV to get a new one issued with your new name.

Social Security Card- The Social Security Administration has specific requirements for issuing a new card- you’ll need a new application, proof of citizenship, legal name change, proof of identity, and proof of your old name. Visit their website for examples of accepted documentation.

Your Company’s Human Resources Department- Your employer reports your Social Security payments so you need to make sure to take this step immediately following your name change with Social Security.

Passport- The requirements vary whether you received your passport within a year of marriage or more than a year.

Miscellaneous- Online accounts, credit cards, bank and brokerage accounts, 401(k)…basically, anything you can think of that has your old name on it!

Non Floral Centerpieces

If you are looking to add a unique touch to your wedding reception, how about opting for centerpieces without flowers? I know this might sound a little crazy but there are actually lots of things you can do to create an enchanting and memorable room without flowers. Here are some of our top ides:

Sand Castles

Candles

Ice Sculptures

Candy

Branches

Crystals

Tissue Paper

Fish Bowl

Feathers

Lanterns

The Perfect Wedding Slideshow

Wedding slideshows have become more and more popular, especially during speeches. This is a great way to reminice about your individual childhoods and how your relationship came to be. Follow these 5 steps to create a slide show your guests will never forget.

1. Know Your Audience
Knowing who your intended audience is an obvious, but sometimes an overlooked step in the process of developing your slide show. For instance, you want to make sure to include some photos of your guests in your slideshow. This is a great way to show them that they have been special in your life. It's always a great surprise to see your self on the big screen.

2. Shorter is Sometimes Better
We’ve found that video montages that are between 5 – 7 minutes in length are ideal for wedding receptions. This usually works out to about 3 songs and 75-100 pictures. While you can certainly display more photos during your slideshow, you want to be careful not to subject your guests to an extremely long slide show.

3. Choose Quality Photographs
While recent advances in digital photo restoration have allowed torn and poorly developed photographs to be brought back to life, there is only so much that the software can do. Pictures that look great printed (correct lighting, framing, developed properly) will also look great while scanned. Another thing to keep in mind is that landscape pictures are better suited for this than portrait pictures. You can definitely use a mix of both but you should try using more landscape photos.

4. Give some thought to music
Choose music that has meaning to you; music whose lyrics go well with the pictures. Also pay attention to how long the music is. If you’re only showing 30 pictures, your music should go accordingly.

5. Test! Test! Test!
It is very important that you test your slide show BEFORE it needs to be played. The last thing you want is for the big moment to arrive and when you hit "play" nothing comes up!

Follow these tips and your guests will be sure to enjoy your little trip down memory lane.

Choosing the Right Priest or Pandit

Your wedding ceremony should reflect the values of your relationship. The right officiant will take the time to understand your personalities so that he can set the tone of your big day. A pandit or priest brings his own personality to a wedding. It is important that the pandit’s personality and the personality of you and your fiancé as a couple align. When considering a pandit, you will need to discuss his or her beliefs concerning marriage and each person's role in the marriage. Below are a few questions that are important to ask your pandit.

1) Will we have to provide your travel and accommodations or will you take care of that on your own?

2) Will your have anyone with you (i.e. an assistant)?

3) Does you have a set program that you follow and what is the order of the events?

4) How long is the ceremony? Can he do a shorter ceremony?

5) Do you have to provide the items needed to perform the ceremony or will he bring this?

6) Can you recite your own vows?

Whomever you choose, make sure you are comfortable with his services and you both understand what has been agreed upon for the ceremony. Most priests or pandits do not have a contract but it is highly recommended that you have this.

Cost Effective Flowers For Your Wedding

A big worry when it comes to weddings is cost. Whether you are spending your money on the basics, or decided to go all out, it’s always nice to realize there are a few places you can be cost effective.

One place you can be budget friendly is with your flowers. Brides are able to discover a ton of spots where they can obtain those low-priced flowers. You can check out the Markets for roses and carnations, along with other bouquets. There’s

always the Farmers Market and any other type of Farm. And then there’s the ever-reliable internet- where you can get a happy price reducing floral provider. What about your own personal garden? You can plant the seeds you want and end up with a beautiful homemade touch at the wedding!

Whatever you choose, make sure to take into account the styles, the season, and most importantly, yourself!

Body by Hannah

Let's face it, on your big day you will be the center of attention. Everyone will be wondering what you are going to wear and how you will look. This can put a lot off stress on even the most confident bride. Enter personal trainer Hannah, she is a certified trainer based in NYC that can help you loose those extra 15lbs before the big day or just help you tone your arms so you can look amazing in your strapless gown. Whatever you are looking for Hannah will customize a special package and workout for your needs.

She is certified to train in home and is insured to do so. Her background in nutrition also adds a strong component to creating a more complete training program. She has been a contributor to Women’s Health Magazine, OneResult.com, and also many other fitness and beauty blogs like BeautySweetSpot.com.

Make sure to check out her website Body By Hannah.

ESPACE

A common phrase heard in any business is “location, location, location”, and when it comes to event planning, it’s a very important detail. Finding and booking an amazing venue is one of the most crucial parts of any event because it jump-starts everything else.

Espace, located on 42nd Street, is the perfect location for someone looking to create a stylish affair. With their custom chairs, to their imported Briton carpet, modern meets elegant in this space.

You can contact Espace for further information, and they will help you with all of the attention to detail to ensure your event to be one of a kind!

Announcing the Launch of our App

We are proud to announce to launch of our application To Be Wed. Put your worries aside and let this application take care of the rest. Sonal J. Shah has created this unique application that can help guide you through all of the right tasks that need to be completed to make your wedding planning stress free and organized. From its ability to automatically generate due dates for tasks to its innovative technology that allows you share these tasks with friends and family, this application is sure to come in handy while planning for your special day.